Fire escape device



Feb. 28, 1967 c. A. COPELAND 3,306,532

FIRE ESCAPE DEVICE 1 Filed Aug. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2

Char/es A. Cope/and- INVENTOR.

BY 5mm Feb. 28, 1967 c. A. COPELAND 3,306,582

FIRE ESCAPE DEVICE Filed Aug. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4

20\ I 1 1 I30 52 I j //4- a Charles A. Cape/and INVENTOR.

BY 51% Hwy United States Patent Ofifice 3,306,582 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,582 FIRE ESCAPE DEVICE Charles A. Copeland, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor of one-half to Edward R. Mims Filed Aug. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 480,873 3 Claims. (Cl. 254154) This invention relates to a new and improved fire escape device and more particularly to a device adapted to receive a person or persons whereby the person may be safely lowered to the ground from a relatively high elevation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and practical fire escape device which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a fire escape device for lowering one or more persons to the ground from a high elevation which includes speed indicating means and a pair of brakes for effectively enabling the operator to control the device.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved fire escape device which is substantially sturdy in construction and relatively maintenance free in operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fi-re escape device having novel and improved braking means for effectively controlling the rate of descent thereof.

. These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the fire escape device comprising the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 22 of FIG- URE 1;

7 FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1; and

a FIGURE 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken walls 20 and 22, and third and fourth parallel end walls 24 and 26. The aforementioned walls are preferably constructed of sturdy metallic material such as one-eighth inch steel plate. The housing 18 further includes lower converging walls 28 and 30 which depend from the side walls 20 and 22 and which include at their lower ends a pair of cars 32 and 34. The ears 32 and 34, as may be observed in FIGURES 1 and 3, are substantially parallel and closely adjacent to each other, and include aligned holes (not illustrated) therein for receiving the bolt 36.

The sling 14 is supported from the bolt 36 and includes a pair of eye-rings 38 depending from the bolt 36, and a pair of link chain supports 40 and 42 which hang from the eye-rings 38 and support a seat 44 at their lower ends. The seat 44 is a conventional swing-type seat of wooden planking or the like and provides a seat for the users of the fire escape device to enable them to be lowered to the ground from elevated positions. The bolt 36 includes a conventional nut 46 and washers 48 for retaining the bolt in the ears 32and 34.

Supported in the housing 18 are a pair of rotatable shafts 50 and 52, which are supported in the housing for rotation by the conventional shaft bearing supports 54 which extend through the side walls 20 and 22 of the housing 18. Also, washer members 56 are provided to retain the shafts 50 and 52 in the bearing supports 54. Thus, it will be apparent that the shafts 50 and 52 are both rotatably supported in the housing and extend transversely thereof.

Supported on shaft 50 is the cable drum 58 which is fixedly attached on the shaft 50 for rotation therewith by a conventional keyway and key generally designated at 60. As may be observed in FIGURE 3, the cable 12 is wound on the cable drum 58, having one end attached to the drum and the other end extending upwardly out of the housing.

Also mounted on shaft 50 is a gear 62 which is keyed to the shaft for rotation therewith and mounted adjacent the cable drum 58. The gear 62 is adapted to mesh with another gear 64 which is fixedly mounted on shaft 52. The gears 62 and 64 are preferably in a ratio of 1:4, thereby allowing the rapid rotation of shaft 50 to more slowly turn shaft 52. However, the main purpose of the gears 62 and 64 is to provide interconnecting means between the cable drum and a pair of brakes generally designated at 66 and 68.

' Referring to FIGURES 1 and 3 for a description of the operation of the brakes 66 and 68, it will be observed that each brake includes substantially identical brake drums 70 and 72 which are keyed on the shaft 52 exteriorly of the housing 18 for rotation with the shaft 52. The drums 70 and 72 are preferably constructed of cast steel, but may be constructed of any substantially wear resistant metallic material. The brakes 66 and 68 include a pair of substantially similar collars 74 and 76 mounted respectively on walls 20 and 22 of the housing 18 by conventional bolts 78. The collars 74 and 76 include internally threaded openings therein for receiving externally threaded operating rods 80 and 82 therein. Thus, it will be apparent that the rods 80 and 82 extend substantially perpendicular to the axes of drums 70 and 72 and are movable toward and away from the drums by being screwed into or out of the collars. The operating rods 80 and 82 carry identical steel brakeshoes 84 on the bottom portion thereof, the brakeshoes having conventional bonded linings 86 thereon in accordance with well-known practice. The brakeshoes 84 are connected to the operating rods 80 and 82 by conventional ball joint connections 88, thereby allowing the rods 80 and 82 to be turned in the collars 74 and 76, causing the brakeshoe linings to contact the brakedrum while at the same time allowing the brakeshoes to remain substantially over the drums. That is to say, by virtue of the ball joint connections 88 the shoes 84 will not turn with the operating rods as the operating rods are turned in the collars 74 and 76.

It is anticipated that the brake 66 will be used to normally maintain the drum 58 in a non-rotating position, as for example when the fire escape device is out of use. This is accomplished by screwing the operating rod 80 downwardly through the collar 74 by use of operating handle 90 until the brakeshoe and lining are tightly against the brakedrum 70. At this time, the shaft 52 will be held in fixed position, and by virtue of the intermeshing of gears 64 and 62 as shown in FIGURE 2, the shaft 50 and cable drum 58 will be held stationary.

It is further anticipated that the brake 68 will be used as a control brake when the device is being operated. The brake 68 will preferably be used by adjusting the rod 82 until the brakeshoe 84 is close enough to the drum 72 for contact therewith by turning the operating handle 92 through a relatively small arc. Further, a coil spring 94 is provided, one end of which is seated on the upper portion of the collar 76, and the other end of which is seated against a washer member 96 which abuts the hantile 92. Thus, it will be appreciated that the spring 94 will maintain the handle 92 in a fixed position when the device is vibrated due to bumping against the side of the building or other rough handling thereof. Thus, it will be appreciated that when the user of the device is seated on seat 44, and after the operating rod 80 is disengaged, the user may control the rate of descent of the device by virtue of the brake 68. When the user is in position on seat 44 he may easily hold the operating handle 92 in his hand and by turning the handle slightly will cause the brakeshoe to contact the brakedrum, thereby slowing or stopping the device by causing the cable drum 58 to cease rotation. Further, in case application of brake 68 does not cause cable drum 58 to become stationary, the user may always tighten down operating handle 90, thereby bringing brake 66 into play also.

Although it is apparent from the foregoing description how the device is used, this operation may further be explained by reference to FIGURE 1. It is seen that the cable 12 includes a fixed loop 98 at the upper portion thereof. The loop 98 will of course be securely fixed to a stationary portion of the building or structure on which the device is to be used, and as the cable 12 unwinds from drum 58, and is fed out through the opening 100 formed in upper converging walls 102, 104, 106 and 108 of the housing 18, the sling will be lowered to the ground. The cable 12 will preferably be A 2,000 pound test steel cable which may come in various lengths depending upon the use to be made of the fire escape device, with the cable drum 58 being of great enough capacity to hold up to 300 feet of such cable.

Adjacent the opening 100 in the upper converging walls of the housing is the neck member 110, through which the cable 12 passes as it is being unwound from the drum 58. Mounted on the upper portion of the neck 110 is a speedometer unit 112 of conventional construction, such as for example as is used on bicycles. Thus, as the cable 12 is fed through the neck 110 and speedometer unit 112 the speed of the cable movement is picked up in a conventional manner and by means of a speedometer cable 114 is relayed to a speedometer indicator 116. The speedometer indicator is calibrated in feet per second, thus allowing the user of the fire escape device to note his rate of descent in feet per second and control the rate of descent by the use of the previously described braking device 68. The speedometer indicator 116 is mounted on the wall 26 of the housing by the mounting bracket 118 and mounting bolt 120.

Thus, in view of the above description, it should be readily apparent that the fire escape device provides a means for a user to lower himself from an elevated position, as for example on a building or other structure, and to control his rate of descent during the lowering. Further, the device may be locked in an upper position on the building or structure until such time as its use is necessitated, when it may be unlocked and used for its intended purpose.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a fire escape device including a supporting cable and sling, the improvement comprising lowering apparatus operatively connecting said sling to said supporting cable, said lowering apparatus including a housing having a cable receiving opening in the upper portion thereof, said housing including a pair of opposed side walls, a first shaft extending across the interior of said housing and rotatably journaled in the opposed side walls, a cable drum fixed to said first shaft for rotation therewith, said cable extending through said opening and having a portion thereof wound on said drum whereby said cable may be withdrawn from said housing so as to allow for a lowering of said sling, a second shaft extending across said housing in spaced relation to said first shaft, said second shaft being rotatably journaled in the opposed side walls and projecting outwardly beyond each side wall so as to define outwardly projecting shaft end portions, a brake drum fixedly mounted on each projecting shaft end portion of said second shaft exteriorly of the adjacent side wall for rotation with said second shaft, a mounting collar fixed to each housing side wall in vertically spaced relation above the corresponding brake drum, an elongated vertical rod mounted within each coliar for a vertical extension and retraction thereof relative to the subjacent brake drum, a brake shoe fixed to the lower end of each rod for selective movement into and out of engagement with the corresponding subjacent brake drum in response to the extension and retraction of the corresponding rod, independent handle means on each vertical rod for the independent manipulation thereof so as to engage or disengage the corresponding brake shoe, and drive means engaged between said shafts for effecting a control of the rotation of said first shaft in response to a rotation of said second shaft whereby the rate of withdrawal of said cable from the cable drum is directly controllable through an engagement of said brake shoes with said brake drums.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said drive means comprises a pair of meshed gears, one fixed to said first shaft for rotation therewith and one fixed to said second shaft for rotation therewith, the second shaft gear having an effective diameter substantially greater than that of the first shaft gear whereby the rotation of said second shaft, along with the brake drums thereon, shall be at a relatively slower rate than that of said first shaft and the cable drum mounted thereon.

3. The combination of claim 2 including means associated with one of said brake shoe adjusting rods for resiliently resisting any tendency for said rod to move in the absence of a direct physical rotation thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 383,432 5/1888 Bernstein 254-154 688,289 12/1901 Boren 254154 750,240 1/1904 Brielmaier 254154 1,494,467 5/1924 Edwards 254154 1,580,283 4/1926 Brown 254154 1,631,279 6/1927 Mandy 254-154 2,745,633 5/1956 Cornwell 254- EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

H. C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner, 

1. IN A FIRE ESCAPE DEVICE INCLUDING A SUPPORTING CABLE AND SLING, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING LOWERING APPARATUS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID SLING TO SAID SUPPORTING CABLE, SAID LOWERING APPARATUS INCLUDING A HOUSING HAVING A CABLE RECEIVING OPENING IN THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF, SAID HOUSING INCLUDING A PAIR OF OPPOSED SIDE WALLS, A FIRST SHAFT EXTENDING ACROSS THE INTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING AND ROTATABLY JOURNALED IN THE OPPOSED SIDE WALLS, A CABLE DRUM FIXED TO SAID FIRST SHAFT FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, SAID CABLE EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENING AND HAVING A PORTION THEREOF WOUND ON SAID DRUM WHEREBY SAID CABLE MAY BE WITHDRAWN FROM SAID HOUSING SO AS TO ALLOW FOR A LOWERING OF SAID SLING, A SECOND SHAFT EXTENDING ACROSS SAID HOUSING IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID FIRST SHAFT, SAID SECOND SHAFT BEING ROTATABLY JOURNALED IN THE OPPOSED SIDE WALLS AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY BEYOND EACH SIDE WALL SO AS TO DEFINE OUTWARDLY PROJECTING SHAFT END PORTIONS, A BRAKE DRUM FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON EACH PROJECTING SHAFT END PORTION OF SAID SECOND SHAFT EXTERIORLY OF THE ADJACENT SIDE WALL FOR ROTATION WITH SAID SECOND SHAFT, A MOUNTING COLLAR FIXED TO EACH HOUSING SIDE WALL IN VERTICALLY SPACED RELATION ABOVE THE CORRESPONDING BRAKE DRUM, AN ELONGATED VERTICAL ROD MOUNTED WITHIN EACH COLLAR FOR A VERTICAL EXTENSION AND RETRACTION THEREOF RELATIVE TO THE SUBJACENT BRAKE DRUM, A BRAKE SHOE FIXED TO THE LOWER END OF EACH ROD FOR SELECTIVE MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CORRESPONDING SUBJACENT BRAKE DRUM IN RESPONSE TO THE EXTENSION AND RETRACTION OF THE CORRESPONDING ROD, INDEPENDENT HANDLE MEANS ON EACH VERTICAL ROD FOR THE INDEPENDENT MANIPULATION THEREOF SO AS TO ENGAGE OR DISENGAGE THE CORRESPONDING BRAKE SHOE, AND DRIVE MEANS ENGAGED BETWEEN SAID SHAFTS FOR EFFECTING A CONTROL OF THE ROTATION OF SAID FIRST SHAFT IN RESPONSE TO A ROTATION OF SAID SECOND SHAFT WHEREBY THE RATE OF WITHDRAWAL OF SAID CABLE FROM THE CABLE DRUM IS DIRECTLY CONTROLLABLE THROUGH AN ENGAGEMENT OF SAID BRAKE SHOES WITH SAID BRAKE DRUMS. 